Former naval fleet of the Royal Navy
Military unit
The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.[ 1]
History
Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history there had been different squadrons stationed in home waters. One of the earliest known naval formations to be based at Plymouth was called the Western Squadron [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] William Penn , Commander-in-Chief, was charged with guarding the Channel from Beachy Head to Lands End with six ships. This system continued following the Restoration. It was the start of what was to become a Western Squadron.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] [ 10]
During the 19th century, as the French developed Cherbourg as a base for steam-powered ships, the Royal Navy developed Portland Harbour as a base for the fleet.[ 11] Isle of Portland .[ 12]
With the amelioration of Anglo-French relations, and the German challenge towards 1900, the need for a Channel Formation diminished and the main European naval arena shifted to the North Sea . Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson was officially "Senior Officer in Command of the Channel Squadron" from 1901 to 1903. His subordinate flag officer in that squadron was the Second-in-Command, who commanded a division of battleships. For the period 1858 to 1903 the Channel squadron was often incorrectly referred to as the Channel Fleet.[ 13]
On 17 April 1903 The Right Hon. Lord Charles Beresford was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Squadron.[ 14] [ 15] Atlantic Fleet ' and the Home Fleet became the 'Channel Fleet'.[ 16]
On 24 March 1909, under a fleet re-organisation, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet.[ 17]
Senior Officers in Command of the Channel Squadron
Post holders have included:[ 22] [ 23]
Second-in-Command Channel Squadron
Post holders included:[ 24]
Rear-Admiral Henry Chads , 1 October 1869.
Rear-Admiral William M. Dowell , 1877
Rear-Admiral Henry Boys , 1878
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Henry C. Glyn , 20 June 1881.
Rear-Admiral Sir Francis W. Sullivan , 14 August 1882
Rear-Admiral John C. Wilson , 1 April 1883
Rear-Admiral William H. Whyte , 13 May 1884
Rear-Admiral Algernon C. F. Heneage , 3 July 1885 – 7 August 1886
Rear-Admiral The Hon.Edmund R. Fremantle , 9 August 1886
Rear-Admiral Charles J. Rowley , 18 August 1887
Rear-Admiral St. George Caulfield d′Arcy-Irvine , 1 September 1888
Rear-Admiral Richard E. Tracey , 12 September 1889
Rear-Admiral Loftus F. Jones , 12 September 1890
Rear-Admiral Edward S. Adeane , 15 September 1891
Rear-Admiral Edward H. Seymour , 16 September 1892 – 25 April 1894
Rear-Admiral Alfred T. Dale , 25 April 1894 – 20 April 1895
Rear-Admiral Arthur H. Alington , 1 May 1895
Rear-Admiral Armand T. Powlett , 1 May 1896 – 19 May 1897
Rear-Admiral John Fellowes , 19 May 1897
Rear-Admiral John W. Brackenbury , 1 June 1898
Rear-Admiral Arthur D. Fanshawe , 1 June 1899 – 31 May 1900
Rear-Admiral Albert B. Jenkings , 1 June 1900 - 5 June 1901
Rear-Admiral Sir William A. D. Acland, Bart. , 5 June 1901 – September 1901
Commanders-in-Chief Channel Fleet
Note Channel Fleet is re-named Atlantic Fleet 1909-1914
Second-in-Command Channel Fleet
Post holders included:[ 25]
Rear-Admirals in the Channel Fleet
Post holders included:[ 26]
Components
1895
Distribution of the Fleet first included:[ 27]
Unit
Date
Notes
1
Battleships
4 September 1895
5 ships: Royal Sovereign, Empress of India, Resolution, and Repulse.
2
Cruisers
4 September 1895
5 ships: Blenheim, Endymion, Bellona, Halcyon, and Speedy.
1901 to 1904
Distribution of the Fleet first included:[ 28] Of note:As the Channel Squadron - renamed The Channel Fleet, September, 1901 .
Unit
Date
Notes
1
Battleships
September 1901 - 1904
5 ships
2
Cruiser Squadron September 1901 - 1904
10 ships
1905 to 1907
Distribution of the Fleet first included:[ 29]
Unit
Date
Notes
1
Battleships
January 1905-February 1907
12 ships - increased to 18 by 1907
2
1st Cruiser Squadron January 1905-February 1907
5 ships to 1905 + 2 more ships from 1906
3
Channel Fleet Flotilla January 1905-February 1907
consisting of destroyers and divided into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Divisions
1907 to 1909
Distribution of the Fleet first included:[ 30]
1914 to 1915
Of note: On 8 August 1914, ships from the pre-war Second and Third Fleets were organised into the Channel Fleet.
Distribution of the Fleet first included:[ 31]
In literature
The Channel Fleet features in several historical novels about the Royal Navy, notably Hornblower and the Hotspur C. S. Forester , in which Forester's fictional hero becomes a favourite of the real Channel Fleet commander, Admiral William Cornwallis . The fleet also features in several of the Aubrey–Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian .
The novel Billy Budd Herman Melville is set on board ships of the Channel Fleet, in the immediate aftermath of the Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797.
In the novel The War of the Worlds HMS Thunder Child and the subsequent general engagement, is detailed in the chapter entitled "The Thunderchild".
References
^ Archives, The National. "Admiralty: Channel Squadron and Fleet: Correspondence" . discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk . National Archives UK, ADM 144, 1859-1910. Retrieved 8 February 2018 . ^ Weigley, Russell F. (2004). The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo ISBN 0253217075 ^ Ranft, Bryan (1995). The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy . Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780198605270 ^ "THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE FRENCH WARS: THE LONG-TERM BACKGROUND: by Jeremy Black, University of Exeter" (PDF) . napoleonicsociety.com . The Napoleonic Society, 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2017 .^ Mackesy, Piers (1964). The War for America: 1775-1783 ISBN 0803281927 ^ Saunders, Andrew (1997). Book of Channel defences . London: Batsford [u.a.] p. 32. ISBN 9780713475944 ^ Annal, David; Collins, Audrey (2012). Birth, Marriage and Death Records: A Guide for Family Historians ISBN 9781848845725 ^ "Royal Navy Dockyards: Plymouth" . rmg.co.uk . Royal Museums Greenwich, 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017 .^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Channel Squadron (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project" . www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Harley & Lovell, 26 November 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017 . ^ "William Loney RN: Channel Fleet" . Archived from the original on 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2010-10-17 .^ Channel Fleet Archived 2004-01-26 at the Wayback Machine The Heritage Coast^ Portland Harbour Authority: History Archived December 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine ^ Davis, Peter. "The Times newspaper on the Channel Squadron, 1858-1862" . www.pdavis.nl . Peter Davis. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2017 . ^ Harley & Lovell, 2017
^ Harley & Lovell, 2017
^ National Archives records
^ HMS Bulwark Archived August 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ^ Admiralty, Great Britain (January 1855). The Navy List ^ Admiralty, Great Britain (January 1855). The Navy List ^ Admiralty, Great Britain (January 1857). The Navy List ^ Admiralty, Great Britain (January 1857). The Navy List ^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF) . gulabin.com . Colin Mackie, December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017 . ^ Whitaker's Almanacks 1900 - 1909
^ Harley & Lovell, 2017
^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Channel Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project" . www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Harley and Lovell, 7 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018 . ^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Channel Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project" . www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Harley and Lovell, 7 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018 . ^ "CHANNEL SQUADRON. (Hansard, 4 September 1895)" . Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 24 February 2018 .^ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914" . www.naval-history.net . Gordon Smith, 8 August 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2018 . ^ Watson, 2015.
^ Watson, 2015.
^ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918" . www.naval-history.net . Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2018 .
Sources
Annal, David; Collins, Audrey (2012). Birth, Marriage and Death Records: A Guide for Family Historians. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9781848845725 .
Archives, The National. (1859-1910) "Admiralty: Channel Squadron and Fleet: Correspondence". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives UK. ADM 144.
Barry, Quintin (2022). From Ushant to Gibraltar: The Channel Fleet 1778-1783 . From Reason to Revolution. Warwick: Helion & Company. ISBN 9781915070395 Black, Jeremy, (2011) "THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE FRENCH WARS: THE LONG-TERM BACKGROUND: University of Exeter" (PDF). napoleonicsociety.com. The Napoleonic Society.
Davis, Peter. "The Times newspaper on the Channel Squadron, 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl. Peter Davis.
Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2018) "Channel Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell.
Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2017) "Channel Squadron (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley & Lovell.
Loney, William. RN. "Channel Squadron, the Naval Intelligence column of the Times newspaper refer to the activities of the Squadron in the period 1858-1862". www.pdavis.nl/Channel.php. William Loney.
Mackesy, Piers (1964). The War for America: 1775-1783. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA: U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803281927 .
Mackie, Colin. (2017) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie.
Ranft, Bryan (1995). The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198605270 .
Royal Museums Greenwich. "Royal Navy Dockyards: Plymouth". (2017). rmg.co.uk. Royal Museums Greenwich.
Saunders, Andrew (1997). Book of Channel defences. London: Batsford [u.a.] ISBN 9780713475944 .
Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
Whitaker's Almanacks (1900 - 1909).
Weigley, Russell F. (2004). The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253217075 .
Further reading
Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty . Lavenham, England: T. Dalton. ISBN 9780900963940
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